Malta International Airport started 2018 with an upswing of 16.7% in passenger numbers, with the biggest growth registered being from the Polish market.

January traffic through MIA grew by more than 50,000 movements over the same comparable stretch in 2017, closing with 351,550 passenger movements.

A number of route developments and increased flight frequencies contributed to a 15.2% increase in aircraft movement and a 16.8% increase in seat capacity.

Seat load factor decreased marginally by 1.1 percentage points and stood at 71.6%.

Outperforming Italy by just 1,450 passenger movements, the United Kingdom held on to its first place among the top drivers of January traffic.

These two markets were followed by Germany, France, and Poland, which cumulatively accounted for over 22% of the month’s traffic.

All five markets registered double-digit growth but at 82.2%, Poland’s increase was the strongest.

Meanwhile, traffic results released on Monday by Airports Council International show that MIA was one of the top five performers among airports in its class in terms of full-year growth.

2017 was MIA’s fastest growing year on record.

The same traffic report lists MIA among the airports that registered an “impressive performance” between 2012 and 2017 with passenger traffic during the period having increased by 65%.

Peers in this list include Amsterdam Schiphol, Dublin and Barcelona.